Edible Landscaping for Businesses and Institutions: Help Yourself is a non-profit transforming underused and ignored lawns and public places in the Pioneer Valley into gardens with fruit trees, gardens, herbs and flowers free for all to harvest from. This year, we've planted dozens of fruit trees at public schools, parks, along the bike path, and at community centers. We're partnering with local businesses that would like community fruit or nut trees and wildflowers planted on their lawns or to have existing fruit trees maintained.

Help Yourself! is seeking businesses to participate in ongoing landscaping partnerships. In exchange for the negotiable amount of space offered by your lawn, we'll design, plant and maintain an edible landscape free of charge, though donations are gratefully accepted and are tax deductable. Email: helpyourselfnoho@gmail.com

Edible Landscaping: From China to California, and the UK to the East Coast, edible landscaping is a fast growing worldwide movement. Not only do plantings beautify an area for those who live and work there, they increase business, tourism, and sense of community and decrease crime. Fruit trees bless communities with real wealth in the form of nutritious, delicious, free and local food for generations, and inspire us to remember our close connection to the land that sustains us.

Edible landscapes support your businesses in many ways:

Being part of a novel trend is a customer draw, putting your establishment on the leading edge of local food culture and puts you on the map, literally, of participating institutions in the area

Plantings demonstrate both a commitment to the community in which you operate, and concern about issues of food accessibility, and help increase the Valley's capacity to feed itself and support wildlife.

You, your staff and customers will enjoy fresh, organic, local fruit and a great view of blossoms.

Landscaping options:

One or more fruit or nut trees. Full sized and dwarf varieties, many heirloom cultivars.

A hedge of berry bushes along the sidewalk or walkway define space.

Herbs and wildflowers beneath the trees support their health, attract butterflies, and beautify the space.

Fruiting vines, like grapes climb up existing fences or railings.

Existing fruit trees? If you have existing fruit trees like crab or ornamental varieties, we can graft larger fruiting varieties onto them, prune them, and underplant them with companion herbs and flowers to increase pollination, disease resistance, and fruit production.

Participating businesses:

Community Enterprises, Inc., Northampton

Northampton Mini Mart, Northampton

Trans' World Food Market, Hadley

Forest gardening: A growing gardening movement worldwide also called permaculture design. Boasting an active presence in the Pioneer Valley, after a decade of growing demonstration home gardens in the area, public plantings and regeneration of the commons are becoming the norm.The values of permaculture are:

Care of the earth: Without a healthy earth life cannot flourish.

Care of the people: All people should have access to fresh food.

Return of Surplus: Surpluses, like dead leaves, are returned to the soil.

Some Participating institutions and organizations:

Hampshire Council of Governments, Northampton

Community Action! Youth Programs, Greenfield

Double Edge Theater, Ashfield

Maintenance:Forest gardens use the web of beneficial relationships in forest ecosystems and are therefore low maintenance and high yielding. Herbs and flowers perform the functions done by humans like fertilizing, spraying or mulching. We'll train interested staff in maintenance techniques. For the most part, this only consists of minimal watering during dry weather. Your plantings will be included in a larger seasonal maintenance plan in the area done by HYS volunteers. This includes a guarantee of yearly fruit tree pruning, mulching and fertilizing. We do not spray for pests.Fruit Harvest:Public fruit trees will be placed on a printed and internet map of the area, with existing fruit trees, wild nut trees, and Help Yourself plantings. These maps are available for the public, and the fruit should have no trouble finding homes. In the even that there is fallen, uncollected fruit beneath the trees, volunteers can help collect it, and and bring it to local food shelters.

Design Process:Our landscape designers will meet with you or your staff about your space limitations, desires and needs. We'll consider shade, slope, access and existing plants, and come up with a list of edible species suited to your site. After your feedback, you'll receive landscaping proposal with a map and timeline for planting.